Fabrication of in vitro three-dimensional multilayered blood vessel model using human endothelial and smooth muscle cells and high-strength PEG hydrogel

2013 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sho Shinohara ◽  
Takanori Kihara ◽  
Shinji Sakai ◽  
Michiya Matsusaki ◽  
Mitsuru Akashi ◽  
...  
2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (26) ◽  
pp. 1109-1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yixiang Dong ◽  
Thomas Yong ◽  
Susan Liao ◽  
Casey K Chan ◽  
S Ramakrishna

Biodegradable polymer nanofibres have been extensively studied as cell culture scaffolds in tissue engineering. However, long-term in vitro studies of cell–nanofibre interactions were rarely reported and successful organ regeneration using tissue engineering techniques may take months (e.g. blood vessel tissue engineering). Understanding the long-term interaction between cells and nanofibrous scaffolds (NFS) is crucial in material selection, design and processing of the tissue engineering scaffolds. In this study, poly( l -lactide- co -ϵ-caprolactone) [P(LLA-CL)] (70 : 30) copolymer NFS were produced by electrospinning. Porcine coronary artery smooth muscle cells (PCASMCs) were seeded and cultured on the scaffold to evaluate cell–nanofibre interactions for up to 105 days. A favourable interaction between this scaffold and PCASMCs was demonstrated by cell viability assay, scanning electron microscopy, histological staining and extracellular matrix (ECM) secretion. Degradation behaviours of the scaffolds with or without PCASMC culture were determined by mechanical testing and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The results showed that the PCASMCs attached and proliferated well on the P(LLA-CL) NFS. Large amount of ECM protein secretion was observed after 50 days of culture. Multilayers of aligned oriented PCASMCs were formed on the scaffold after two months of in vitro culture. In the degradation study, the PCASMCs were not shown to significantly increase the degradation rate of the scaffolds for up to 105 days of culture. The in vitro degradation time of the scaffold could be as long as eight months by extrapolating the results from GPC. These observations further supported the potential use of the P(LLA-CL) nanofibre in blood vessel tissue engineering.


2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (2) ◽  
pp. G188-G196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Hecker ◽  
Keith Baar ◽  
Robert G. Dennis ◽  
Khalil N. Bitar

Fecal incontinence affects people of all ages and social backgrounds and can have devastating psychological and economic consequences. This disorder is largely attributed to decreased mechanical efficiency of the internal anal sphincter (IAS), yet little is known about the pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for the malfunction of sphincteric smooth muscle at the cellular level. The object of this study was to develop a three-dimensional (3-D) physiological model of the IAS bioengineered in vitro from isolated smooth muscle cells. Smooth muscle cells isolated from the IAS of rabbits were seeded in culture on top of a loose fibrin gel, where they migrated and self-assembled in circumferential alignment. As the cells proliferated, the fibrin gel contracted around a 5-mm-diameter SYLGARD mold, resulting in a 3-D cylindrical ring of sphincteric tissue. We found that 1) the bioengineered IAS rings generated a spontaneous basal tone, 2) stimulation with 8-bromo-cAMP (8-Br-cAMP) caused a sustained decrease in the basal tone (relaxation) that was calcium-independent, 3) upon stimulation with ACh, bioengineered IAS rings showed a calcium- and concentration-dependent peak contraction at 30 s that was sustained for 4 min, 4) addition of 8-Br-cAMP induced rapid relaxation of ACh-induced contraction and force generation of IAS rings, and 5) bioengineered sphincter rings show striking functional differences when compared with bioengineered rings made from isolated colonic smooth muscle cells. This is the first report of a 3-D in vitro model of a gastrointestinal smooth muscle IAS. Bioengineered IAS rings demonstrate physiological functionality and may be used in the elucidation of the mechanisms causing sphincter malfunction.


Stem Cells ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
John van Tuyn ◽  
Douwe E. Atsma ◽  
Elizabeth M. Winter ◽  
Ietje van der Velde-van Dijke ◽  
Daniel A. Pijnappels ◽  
...  

1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (5) ◽  
pp. C1371-C1378 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Walsh ◽  
J. D. Carmichael ◽  
G. J. Kargacin

Calponin isolated from chicken gizzard smooth muscle binds in vitro to actin in a Ca(2+)-independent manner and thereby inhibits the actin-activated Mg(2+)-adenosinetriphosphatase of smooth muscle myosin. This inhibition is relieved when calponin is phosphorylated by protein kinase C or Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, suggesting that calponin is involved in thin filament-associated regulation of smooth muscle contraction. To further examine this possibility, calponin was isolated from toad stomach smooth muscle, characterized biochemically, and localized in intact isolated cells. Toad stomach calponin had the same basic biochemical properties as calponin from other sources. Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that calponin in intact smooth muscle cells was localized to long filamentous structures that were colabeled by antibodies to actin or tropomyosin. Preservation of the basic biochemical properties of calponin from species to species suggests that these properties are relevant for its in vivo function. Its colocalization with actin and tropomyosin indicates that calponin is associated with the thin filament in intact smooth muscle cells.


1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 822-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Garfield ◽  
E. E. Daniel

Smooth muscle cells of different densities to transmission of electrons (termed light and dark cells) were found in rat myometrium examined in the electron microscope following fixation by immersion in glutaraldehyde. Light cells accounted for about 4% of the total population of cells. No light cells were found in tissues fixed in situ by intraarterial perfusion with glutaraldehyde. In addition to staining differences, light cells were distinguished from most dark cells by differences in nuclear, mitochondrial, endoplasmic reticular, and surface structures. The relative number of light and dark cells after in vitro fixation was not changed in tissues relaxed with adrenaline or contracted with oxytocin. Mechanical injury resulted in increased numbers of light cells. Similarly, chemical injury with metabolic inhibitors resulted in ATP depletion, followed by increased numbers of light cells and gain in water content. We concluded that light cells were produced by mechanical or metabolic damage, leading to loss of volume control mechanisms, swelling, and leakage of protein. Light cells found after fixation in vitro in numerous prior studies represent cells damaged during isolation, and not a physiological variant among smooth muscle cells.


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